Feasibility of UHF-RFID links involving loop-tags implanted into human limbs

This paper investigates the feasibility of direct and forward links for UHF-RFID tags implanted into human limbs when interrogated by a non-contacting reader´s antenna. Performance gain indicators of the through-the-body RFID channel are estimated by electromagnetic simulations over an anthropomorphic phantom as well as by means of experimentation with a real RFID communication link involving a simplified in-vitro set-up. The achieved results suggest that, by exploiting the current potentialities of RFID technology, a stable communication link with tags implanted inside limbs might be already feasible up to 10-35 cm from the body (depending on the placement), with potentiality to process the received signal to gather information about the limb motion.